The Massachusetts Collective - NIL initiative

[umasscollective]

A $1500 donation to the Court Club is 80% tax deductible which means you are getting roughly $300 in tangible benefits which I think is pretty accurate.

We might not be for you

[Berkman]

Might sound good but my wife and I get an automatic deduction of $ 28,000 which we can never exceed doing standard deductions.

[SignMan]

Good information here, so far...
Let me continue; this discussion...

Disclaimer...
Information here from me is not intended to be tax advice.
Before considering any donations, please consult with your tax advisor.
Additional information can be obtained from the UMass Gift Office.

QCD's
Qualified Charitable Distribution

eligibility to make QCDs includes having attained Age 70 1/2.

RMDs
The age for RMDS (Required Minimum Distributions) has change to 73 beginning in 2023.

Eligible QCDs can count towards your RMD requirement, up to $100,000/year.
Spouses can each do up to the the $100,000.

QCDs may be made from Traditional IRA, Inherited IRA, SEP IRA (inactive plans), and SIMPLE IRA (inactive plans) only; not from 401(k) plans.

A QCD cannot be claimed as an itemized charitable deduction on your taxes.

You don’t have to itemize deductions on your tax return to deduct a QCD from your taxable income.
Therefore, it may be an option even if you claim the Standard Deduction, i.e.: Berkman's situation.

UMASS IS AN ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT OF QCDs.
I/we have successfully contributed to UMass Athletics using a QCD via an RMD.

Think of it this way.
If you meet the age requirements for both QCD & RMD, you can donate directly to UM Athletics from your eligible IRA funds (you may not receive the funds yourself and then donate it to UM). The amount you donate does not become taxable income to you, so, although you cannot itemize it as a donation, you can avoid paying income taxes on it that you normally would have to were it an RMD paid directly to you.

An additional plus here, I believe, is that there is no reduction in your tax benefit re part of it considered a benefit to, say, the Court Club, as mentioned by a poster.

If interested, speak with UM about it...
Dave Biancamano
UM Gift Officer
and your tax advisor.

[umasscollective]

Support Sam Breen directly by purchasing some limited edition Sam Breen gear! Order by EOD 2/12 and receive the items by the 2/19 Davidson Game!

Link: https://www.masscogear.com/shop/sam-bre ... -edition/2

We will continue to do custom merch drops with players after they come on our Twitter Spaces/Podcasts. Next up is Dyondre Dominguez next week on Thursday at 8pm! We will also have on CEO of Basketball New Zealand Dillon Boucher to talk Tafara and International NIL.

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

serious question - is Frank allowed to donate to this? Being the highest paid state employee he could certainly afford to donate $100K - especially if it means getting a recruit or keeping someone. I would think it may be worth his while to take money out of his own pocket if it meant future success for the program and ultimately a new, more lucrative contract

I mean it certainly sounds like a conflict of interest/violation but then again a year ago it was a violation for a player to receive money and now it's not so I'm just curious if that is allowed?

[NilesGold]

^ Relatedly, can UMass or UMass athletics fund this?

Instead of paying $1.7M for the HC, I would argue that it's probably more effective to hire a HC for $1M and fund NIL for players to the tune of $700k.

My guess is that the school can't do this, which is a big reason why I think donations to the NIL collective are probably a more effective use of donation $ than to the school or court club.

[umasscollective]

^ Relatedly, can UMass or UMass athletics fund this?

Instead of paying $1.7M for the HC, I would argue that it's probably more effective to hire a HC for $1M and fund NIL for players to the tune of $700k.

My guess is that the school can't do this, which is a big reason why I think donations to the NIL collective are probably a more effective use of donation $ than to the school or court club.

Coaches and University’s cannot fund. They can promote and encourage people to support though, as they have. And I think we will see more public support from Frank after the season as well.

Please encourage your friends, businesses, etc to join > www.TheMassCollective.com/join

[umasscollective]

Tune in tonight at 830pm for a Twitter Spaces with Dyondre Dominguez, hosted by Nathan Strauss. We will do a quick WBB URI Game recap prior to chatting with Dyondre, starting around 8pm.

[UMass'96]

I’ve been thinking about how to ask this for a while so that it doesn’t come off snarky: but what do you get from putting your own money into the collective?

What’s the end game of paying guys who are decent to good college players on an average team?

The female player Breen deserves whatever she can get as she’s an all timer and has contributed to team success.

It’s not for everyone. And fact is, you won’t get “tangible” benefits like a court club member would. A $1,500 member at the court club probably gets around $800 in tangible benefits, gear, pre game and halftime receptions, etc. That is not our model. 90+% of contributions go directly to the players. The other, go to operating expenses and benefits, but we won’t ever spend a dime on events, food, etc.

The benefit I see is fielding a competitive team and controlling our destiny. And creating unique experiences for fans, and for players too. We won’t be a cookie cutter operation. And we need help and we need volunteers! It’s fun to be involved and work on these projects. You won’t get that access elsewhere.

How does UMass financially benefit from these NIL deals, or do they?

If 90% of contributions go to the player with the remaining 10% going towards covering expenses would it make sense to carve any of that out for UMass?

NIL is all about the player making money based on various factors. But wouldn't the school reasonably expect to also make money on NIL? I mean, the whole reason that the player is in a position to do this is because they play at the school. So, if you hold an event where the player appears or, if you sell merchandise promoting the player, the school seems to also be mentioned. So why wouldn't the school also receive a cut of the money.

Given that donors only have a limited amount of money to spend between either donating to UMass athletics or NIL, I think that more people would support the Collective initiative if they know that the money that they donate also goes towards funding the facilities, scholarships, etc, in addition to supporting the player.

And as far as benefits to the donor are concerned, the Collective could provide benefits that don't cost them a dime... ie, having meet and greets with players, allowing donors to attend closed practices or lockerroom events, 1:1 with the coaches, access to player interviews and content not available to the public, etc. It doesn't always have to be swag clothing or tickets.

[PreecherJenkins]

As Pat has said many times. If you have the means you should donate to both the court club and the collective. The collective goes toward the players, nothing goes to UMass.

[TheInsider]

96.. the schools have been making money off the players for forever and they still do.. NIL is about the players finally getting a piece of the pie.. the schools are fine. They don't need another cut.

[umasscollective]

I’ve been thinking about how to ask this for a while so that it doesn’t come off snarky: but what do you get from putting your own money into the collective?

What’s the end game of paying guys who are decent to good college players on an average team?

The female player Breen deserves whatever she can get as she’s an all timer and has contributed to team success.

It’s not for everyone. And fact is, you won’t get “tangible” benefits like a court club member would. A $1,500 member at the court club probably gets around $800 in tangible benefits, gear, pre game and halftime receptions, etc. That is not our model. 90+% of contributions go directly to the players. The other, go to operating expenses and benefits, but we won’t ever spend a dime on events, food, etc.

The benefit I see is fielding a competitive team and controlling our destiny. And creating unique experiences for fans, and for players too. We won’t be a cookie cutter operation. And we need help and we need volunteers! It’s fun to be involved and work on these projects. You won’t get that access elsewhere.

How does UMass financially benefit from these NIL deals, or do they?

If 90% of contributions go to the player with the remaining 10% going towards covering expenses would it make sense to carve any of that out for UMass?

NIL is all about the player making money based on various factors. But wouldn't the school reasonably expect to also make money on NIL? I mean, the whole reason that the player is in a position to do this is because they play at the school. So, if you hold an event where the player appears or, if you sell merchandise promoting the player, the school seems to also be mentioned. So why wouldn't the school also receive a cut of the money.

Given that donors only have a limited amount of money to spend between either donating to UMass athletics or NIL, I think that more people would support the Collective initiative if they know that the money that they donate also goes towards funding the facilities, scholarships, etc, in addition to supporting the player.

And as far as benefits to the donor are concerned, the Collective could provide benefits that don't cost them a dime... ie, having meet and greets with players, allowing donors to attend closed practices or lockerroom events, 1:1 with the coaches, access to player interviews and content not available to the public, etc. It doesn't always have to be swag clothing or tickets.

1. No funds go to UMass. That’s not the point of NIL. But they do receive a fringe benefit of being able to attract better talent when they align themselves with a strong NIL Collective. We work closely with the school, but they cannot direct us. They have been great to with, from Ryan, to Dave B, Shardonay in Compliance and Evelin in trademark and licensing.

2. We cannot use University marks without approval or on merch without the school getting a cut. We will avoid this for now. For example: the Sam Breen merch we dropped, 100% or proceeds went to Sam.

Another example: We will be debuting a WBB Team wide shirt that features all the players, but no mention of UMass. All proceeds to go the players. Hopefully a few thousand. It’s a unique piece we’re excited about and the players are too. Stay tuned…

3. And we do that. But access to players and interviews isn’t free. We pay for there time, which is the point of NIL. In terms of other operating costs, right now, and for the first year, not a dollar or collective funds have been spent on operating costs. I assumed all costs for year 1, which will be around $25k. Once we are established, the Collective will take over operating costs, which will be much less since the start up phase and costs would be completed.

The biggest investment right now is my time. Easily 30+ hours a week. As we grow I hope others will get involved in the behind the scenes (and some have already).

[Juice Stand]

The biggest benefit that I, the fan, could possibly receive is winning consistently. In my opinion, the coach is the most important piece to winning consistently in college basketball. We've hired a good coach that has recruited talented players, now we have to retain those players. The Court Club is a great way to accomplish that because those dollars go into the pool for coach's salary. I don't think the Collective will help with funding the coach's salary, and I'm not sure they'll be able to help with recruiting players, (maybe the pool of money will get big enough to lure talent, I don't know), but if they can help retain, then it's worthwhile to donate.

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

any idea if the coaches are allowed to use potential NIL deals when recruiting - or is this a violation? For example is Frank allowed to tell a potential recruit if you come to UMass I can get you a $100K NIL deal?

[umasscollective]

any idea if the coaches are allowed to use potential NIL deals when recruiting - or is this a violation? For example is Frank allowed to tell a potential recruit if you come to UMass I can get you a $100K NIL deal?

Opportunities in broad strokes can be discussed.